China will expand international cooperation in engineering and technological sciences, said Xu Kuangdi, president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), on Monday.

"As a national academic and advisory organization, the CAE is keen to expand international exchanges and collaboration," Xu said at a reception celebrating a newly completed CAE building, attended by senior diplomats from more than 20 foreign embassies in Beijing.

Founded in 1994, the CAE now has 697 academicians and foreign associates, and has completed more than 200 consulting studies, including national key engineering projects and industrial technology innovation, Xu said.

The CAE became a member of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences in 1997, and has now signed bilateral cooperation agreements with over 30 engineering academies worldwide.

"We are planning to work with BMW in Germany to explore new vehicle energies. Other plans for cooperation include extending our work with the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences on clean energy for another two years," Xu told Xinhua.

Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to China, said a strategic plan is taking shape between China and India for cooperation in areas such as biotechnology, earthquake engineering and climate studies.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2007)